


Day of Discovery

by HopefulNebula



Category: Firefly
Genre: Childhood, Community: ff_friday, Gen, Pre-Canon, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-08
Updated: 2012-11-08
Packaged: 2017-11-18 05:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/557268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopefulNebula/pseuds/HopefulNebula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Until the first moment River made Simon look like an idiot child, people thought <em>she</em> was one herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day of Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written in 2008 for ff_friday challenge 223: pi or pie.

Simon didn't want to act ashamed of his sister.

He knew he could never actually _be_ ashamed of her any more than he could prevent the sun from rising, but he'd heard his parents talking when they thought he was asleep. They were worried: River was already three years old and because she hadn't yet started talking, the neighbors _were_.

He didn't want to have to nod morosely whenever people remarked how tragic it is that a child from such a well-known family was so impaired. He didn't want to have to sneak into her room at night to tell her how proud he was of her, how he would always be there for her.

It wasn't a surprise to him when River climbed onto the couch next to him and watched him do his math homework. She'd always liked to be close to him, and Simon had an uncanny feeling that she was following along with him. His parents had dismissed the feeling the one time he'd broached the subject, and he'd had the distinct impression that they'd been humoring him even then, but all the same, he knew what he knew.

It _was_ a surprise when River pointed to one of the problems in the text -- not a very advanced geometry problem, but not one he had solved yet either.

It was even more surprising to hear her clear, high voice.

"Pi."

"River?"

"That's pi."

The symbol wasn't anywhere in the problem, and neither was the number, but Simon had a crazy idea. He scrambled to solve the problem, taking a moment to double-check his figures afterward, and even then he didn't believe it until he checked the appendix that carried the answers to even-numbered problems.

River had just solved a math problem geared toward sixteen-year-olds. And she'd used her first words to do it.

Simon pulled her close and called for his parents. They'd _have_ to believe him now.


End file.
